Bone growth diagrams show the progression of development of the bone over a period of time. This visually displays where a bone accepts blood vessels or where cartilage develops. This type of skeletal diagram also may show a cross section of a bone and the different layers within a bone: bone marrow, osteoclasts, cancellous bone, and cortical bone.
Figure 6.3.1 – Anatomy of a Long Bone: A typical long bone showing gross anatomical features. The wider section at each end of the bone is called the epiphysis (plural = epiphyses), which is filled internally with spongy bone, another type of osseous tissue.
Some skeletal diagrams show smaller sections of the human skeleton. These are usually a grouping, such as bones of the head, spine, feet and hands. There are many different types of skeletal diagrams.